Administration workflow
From Textpattern CMS User Documentation
WORK-IN-PROGRESS! Throw rocks if it gets quiet.
This is a workflow perspective of the Admin-side in context of building a small, arbitrary website with five navigational sections (homepage, about, blog, archive, and contact). The aim is to show you where things are done in the admin-side, and in what order, more than to show you how to do them. The how of things is covered elsewhere in the documentation. To that end, each stage of the workflow provides suggested reading (where relevant, and within reason) for more on a given topic, and how to get more power out of admin-side panels via key admin plugins.
Our journey begins with having just finished installing a new version of Textpattern, and we're logging in for the first time.
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Language selection
When you first login, Textpattern takes you to the Language Preferences screen to set your working language. You install the language you want, and save the change.
The only time you'll ever need to go to the Languages preference screen again is when upgrading your installation. At each upgrade, Textpattern guides you to reset your language file.
Recommended reading:
- sed_cleaner (Plugin for one-time use immediately after setting language in a new installation. In one pass, it removes obsolete admin-side features and example content, and resets ID numbers for content types, among other nice things.)
System security and troubleshooting
The next step is to go the Diagnostics panel where you'll see a few items in red that need clearing up following a new install. New install errors are standard procedure to let you know to delete the setup folder (if you haven't already), and to create write permissions on the tmp and files folders in the file tree. The error diagnostics will be explanatory about what you need to do in each case.
User accounts
Since user accounts are rather important for being able to do anything at all, it makes sense to go have a look at the Users panel next. Here is where you change your password and email address. And if other users will have access to the admin-side, this is where you'll create and edit their account details too, including User Roles and Permissions.
Recommended reading:
- smd_faux_role (Plugin for testing which user roles grant or restrict permission to which parts of the Textpattern administration, without needing to create roles and logging out and back in.)
- rah_change_passwords (Plugin allowing direct password management. Avoids the system generating random passwords and sending them by email.)
- smd_bio (Plugin that extends user account data collected and stored for custom output. E.g., team profiles.)
- smd_user_manager (Plugin providing user, group, and privilege management capabilities. Integrates with smd_bio.)
Site identity and default configurations
With your installation secure, and your password in place, you should set a few defaults that will influence the website's identity and base-line publishing behaviour. You do this in Basic Preferences, which is the default screen of the Preferences panel. The other two screens being Advanced Preferences and Language Preferences, the latter you've already been to.
Recommended reading:
Establishing site structure and design
You're now ready to start assembling your basic site structure. As mentioned at the start, we'll demonstrate the workflow by setting up the home page, a blog section, and a basic archive for blog articles.
Building publishing behaviour
[Categories, Forms, Tag builders] (adding in the publishing architecture to the layout in #3)
Managing content
[Write, Articles, Images, Links, Files, comments] (routine publishing for the Blog in #3; invent a simple scenario)
Extending with plugins
[Plugins, Extensions, etc] (highlight some popular plugins used in relation to the topics already covered; e.g., discussion of smd_bio/smd_user_manager in relation of user accounts)
Monitoring referrers
Recommended reading:
- rah_unlog_me (Plugin that removes the administrators IP, and any others defined, so their site visits don't show up in visitor logs. Result is a more representative reflection of actual referrers that count.)
